Thread: Newly obtained kamisori have brought me here

Hey everyone, my name is Johnny and I have been using a dovo for the past year. I got the hang of using it as well as free hand honing and stropping the razor. A few months ago I purchased the Wicked Edge sharpening system and now my shaves have never been better. More recently I have just returned from a trip to Japan where I was able to obtain these three kamisori:

I was hoping that you fine people could help me identify these beautiful blades and give me as much information as possible. After browsing these forums I have learned that the bottom one is an Iwasaki. I would love to learn the makers of each razor, the steel, which ones I should hone and leave alone and which ones I should touch up and use. I still am not sure what caused me to do this, but I took the bamboo wrap and the plastic sleeving off of the middle blade. Underneath this brand new razor I was disappointed in discovering corrosion, pitting, and unattended file marks throughout the whole handle. I'm not sure if I should polish everything off or rewrap.

Thanks for any information and advice.

Welcome to the forum.
Top one looks like Henkotsu
Bottom is Iwasaki
the one in the middle not sure, but looks like the new production ones with yellow steel made for a whole seller
Honing entirely depends if the razors are shave ready or not. If you plan to hone them on wicked edge, you will ruin them. Honing methods have been discussed here a lot so doo a search and you will find multiple threads on the subject.

I have a set of waterstones too. I wouldn't even know how to even use the wicked edge on these guys, there is no symmetry on any part of these blades. Thanks for the info, I'll keep digging in these forums

What kind of waters tones do you have??

As far as the tang on the wrapped razor, you can clean it up and then look for a rubber grip online. A rubber grip will provide better protection against rust and corrosion.

I have a combination of Nortons and Shaptons up to 12k.

Not sure I want to have it wrapped yet but for sure I would like to remove the corrosion and file marks. Maybe put a conversion coating on it?

Here is some of the things I book marked hope some of it helps

This is a great read I saved from an old thread here
http://strazors.com/uploads/images/a...onkamisori.pdf

Lynn's video


gssixguns part #1
gssixgun Kamisori part 1.wmv - YouTube

gssixguns part #2
gssixgun Kamisori part 2 - YouTube